Theme 3: Human Rights


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Overview

Quarter 2-3

EU:
1. systems can create inequities
2. social change begins with an individual or small group
3. human rights are affected by systems of government
4. human rights are impacted by the perception of the majority

EQ:
1. How do social systems help/harm people? (same as GI unit)
2. What factors prompt social change?
3. How does a system of government uphold or violate human rights?
4. How do diversity and the need for interdependence affect human rights?


Class Novel:
The Giver, by Lois Lowry

Literature Circles:
Diary of a Young Girl: Anne Frank
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

Music study (optional):
Oliver Messiaen's Quartet for the End of Time (composed in a concentration camp during WWII)

The Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asks "every individual and every organ of society" to "strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms"(UDHR, 1948). Through the formation of literature circles, students will use the set texts to:
  1. Explore the rights of individuals
  2. Compare and contrast the power of government vs the responsibility of the individual
  3. Analyze responsibility versus indifference and the impact of discrimination
  4. Engage in a journey of self discovery

Activities on the texts will require students to reflect on the themes, issues, and concepts and make connections between their own lives and the experiences of the characters in the novels. Using this knowledge as a background, students will develop their exploration of the role of government through an investigation of the causes of the American Revolution. This will segue into exploring connections with the world today as students use that knowledge in comparing and contrasting the roles of governments in the 21st century in countries around the globe.

The unit will culminate in a speech writing activity that will exhibit their knowledge and understanding of the 5 themes covered during this year as well as the connections between these themes and the Grade 8 focus on community.


Teacher notes


For this unit, students have a choice of 3 books. We are currently trialling this approach. Activities can be designed in a number of ways.
For example, students could use guiding questions to explore their book through group discussion. The groups are then re-formed and students share their knowledge and experiences in a series of 'jigsaw' activities that allow connections between the 3 books to be investigated.


Unit outline


currently being edited


Unit materials

Pop quizzes for novels



Wikispaces

Fay Leong's wikispace
http://rightsforall.wikispaces.com

Susannah Muench's wikispace

http://human-rights.wikispaces.com/




Individual Teacher Materials

Each teacher has constructed additional supplementary materials, such as formative and summative assessments, with accompanying rubrics. These are added below.

Susannah












Fay



Useful sources

"Energy of a Nation: Immigrants in America" Teaching Guide